


Project Rehab

by Thefrostyxx



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Cause I love it, DC universe - Freeform, I can't tag too much my brain hurt, Lame superhero names, M/M, Rating May Change, Young Justice AU, and more!, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-04-21 11:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14284017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefrostyxx/pseuds/Thefrostyxx
Summary: The Generation of Miracles was a gang of young mercenaries known for their incredible powers. However, the missing of their younger member leads them to a chance for different path. (UPDATED)





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young metahumans are starting to get even more violent, and Justice League is doing everything in their power to prevent any more metahumans to take the path of villainy.  
> Nijimura Shuuzou happened to be caught in the middle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I was rereading the piece before and I thought that since this would be multi-chaptered, there is no harm than to expand the story a little and put a little more context and background (and because I'm so unsatisfied with what I wrote earlier ugh).  
> I hope this is better because I'm quite satisfied with how it turns out! :)

Nijimura was walking towards the abandoned phone booth on the corner of the street, glancing through his shoulder before entering and scanning his iris. A very bright light then beamed out, showering his skin with warm, yet weird feeling that made the black haired man thought that this might be what it feels like to have a kingdom of ants crawling under his skin.

_Rainbow Blade. B Zero One._

The stoic voice of a woman was heard, and before he knew it, the scenery before him changed into a humongous cave with futuristic lighting and a lot of computers and holograms floating here and there. The room was empty and quiet, but it was to be expected. It was only midday, after all. Most of his team must be in their respective school. Contrary to popular beliefs, young heroes did take a public school instead of private lessons. Oh, and they also had extracurricular activity. 

Nijimura walked towards the computer zone, waving his hand in the thin air to access a holographic keyboard. “Computer, show me  _The Phantom_ progress and condition for the past week.”

“ _Access granted_.”

Just a mere second later, tons of data in form of diagrams, words, pictures, body map,  and even live physical monitor of the man called _The Phantom_ appeared right before his eyes. Nijimura inspected the data, skimming through the older ones and analyzing the new ones. He grinned to himself, one hand clenching one of his swords as he pressed the button to release The Phantom’s inhibitor collar.

“Computer, unlock all access to exit the cave.”

_“Unlocking all exits will lead to a chance of a prisoner escaping the property. Confirmation required.”_

“Confirmed. Access Rainbow Blade, B Zero One.”

Nijimura pulled down his mask to cover his face, before jumping to hide on top of the door that connected to the clinic wing.

He didn’t have to wait long before hearing small footsteps approaching him, fast. They were light and quiet, almost like the sound of dancing leaves in the summer day. However, Nijimura was trained to hear the smallest sound, and he kind of expected it so it's easy to catch those sounds.

Before the person even appeared to his field of vision, Nijimura dropped himself and swung his sword in the direction the voice coming from. The boy’s blue eyes widened before he dodged in the last second, narrowing his eyes towards the ninja in front of him. However, before the boy could even catch his breath, Nijimura landed with one hand, gaining his balance before swinging his other blade towards The Phantom.

As expected, the boy dodged the blade with his bare hands, touching the dull side of the blade to keep it away from him, but not trying to return any of Nijimura’s attack. The boy then vanished into thin air. Nijimura could feel his presence on top of him and before he could react, the blue-haired boy held his swords on its dull side instead of attacking Nijimura, preventing him from attacking again. 

“That was a huge opening,” Nijimura said. “You could ignite passed my heart that instant. I would have died and you would have won.”

“Please do not say something horrible like that, Rainbow Blade-san,” the boy said with his usual flat tone. “It makes me sick to even think about it.”

“I was so close to killing you,” he said. “I intended to.”

“And I believe I deserve my demise, considering the horrible things I did,” the boy said. “But I know you wouldn’t, Rainbow Blade-san.”

Nijimura smirked, before straightening his position once again. “I’m done with you,” he said as he sheathed back his blades. “Go rest. The others will be back in a few hours.”

At that, the blue-haired boy's eyes were filled with surprise. "Am I passed?" he asked. “You won’t collar me again?”

“Nope,” Nijimura said as he turned his back from the boy. "You will be supervised very, very closely though. Furihata, you would help do that, right?"

Nijimura could feel someone flinched behind the large power pillar in the middle of the room. The brown-haired boy then stepped out, his feet were shaking obviously. "Y... Yes," he stuttered. His brown eyes looked horrified. "Of course, Rainbow Blade-san."

"Good boy," he smirked as he walked up the stairs towards the cave's rec room. However, before he entered the room, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Now why don't you go and show Kuroko his own room, Furihata? I'm sure he's getting bored of staying in the clinic wing," he glanced towards his shoulder, smiling as both boy's eyes went wide in pure glee. The brown-haired boy then ran towards Kuroko, saying something about being roommate before Nijimura closed the door to the rec room. 

He wasn't there alone. In the furthest corner of the room, there were two of his companions waiting for him in their hero costumes. They turned their eyes from the small holographic computer that showed the cave's control room as Nijimura came in and took off his mask.

"If you watched the footage then you know that he passed," Nijimura said. “I have tested him in any way I could think of, even poking to his subconscious mind and playing psychological games. I am sure that he wasn’t the same Phantom we used to fight anymore. His heart is purified now.”

The two other men in the room—Kiyoshi and Yukio—smiled. “I know he would pass,” Kiyoshi said in a bright tone. His glowing green eyes were staring at the holographic computer again, where the two boys were running the hall towards their shared room, smiling wide and bright like children they should be. It's unbelievable that the blue-haired boy was the same Phantom that they fought fiercely not a month ago, ignite-passing Kiyoshi's chest in an attempt to push his heart out of its place. "Furihata had told me his progress and he spoke only good things. You were overreacting by testing Kuroko Tetsuya in the first place, Nijimura.”

“Hey, don’t give me that, _O The Mighty Green Lantern_ . I have all the right to be cautious. This is _my_ team. I’m not just gonna go around and giving a warm welcome to some young menace without pushing him to the worst first. Let alone a former member of _Generation of Miracles_ .” Nijimura spat, glaring at Kiyoshi. “I’m not gonna let a _mole_ or anyone destroying _my_ team.”

“That’s understandable,” Yukio spoke. “That left us one more question, Shuuzou.”

“About Project Rehab?”

“Indeed. Riko and Hyuuga demanded if it is safe for us to continue to proceed to the next phase. The young metahumans are getting more and more violent,” Yukio sighed as he pressed his fingers to his forehead, massaging it lightly. “We desperately need this alternative. We can’t just lock them up and keep sending them to the asylum. They will lose their senses and it would make them rougher. We can’t let what happened to Makoto happened the second time, nor let any of them join his charade of madness.”

Nijimura closed his eyes, groaning silently. He was hoping that this project will be handled by the initiator, Aida Riko. She was the greatest, and most mature Psychic the world could have. _The Fate Stringers_ , people called her. Surely she could handle this… _project_.

But on the other hand, Nijimura knew that with the additional (and unexpected) member of his team, it was only logical that he was the one entrusted to handle this. Besides, with Makoto and Imayoshi making their move, The League was on high alert right now. His team wouldn’t have that much pressure to run the project peacefully. The team could do this. They just need to prepare themselves to face the chaos that was sure to entail.

He stared at the holographic computer, staring at Furihata who was laughing freely with Kuroko. They are now throwing pillows towards each other. Kuroko was playfully using his power to give surprises, and Furihata was also summoning his power, although not to the extent of fully transforming himself.

He just needs to keep teaching these young heroes to prevent unnecessary risks, and with the help of Yukio— _The Avalanche_ , Nijimura was sure that he could do it.

“We’re ready,” he said confidently.

 

* * *

_**Zeta Tube** = teleportation tube technology the Justice League uses to teleport their members and allies from one place to another._

_**Inhibitor Collar** = special control collars designed to prevent the wearers from accessing their superhuman abilities, and also to apply electric shocks powerful enough to render a person unconscious. For subjects with multiple powers, the collars are capable of selectively repressing or allowing individual abilities, and can be remotely switched between settings._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me if you like this and there's a DC comic reference you don't understand so I can explain it :)


	2. Ambush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is where the actual plot starts and I added some actions! I hope you guys enjoy it regardless!

_“… adult villains will be imprisoned or admitted to mental hospital depending on their crime and mental stability. While the young ones, who weren’t legally adult will be admitted into League’s rehabilitation program to prevent them to grow to be an even more dangerous villain….”_

“Kise, shut that down,” Aomine shouted from where he laid himself on, clearly feeling annoyed. “I can’t stand that woman.”

“I want to, but I can’t,” Kise replied. “It’s an interrupting, unskippable breaking on YouTube."

“Then turn it off and find something else to watch, goddamnit!”

“It’s all over other TV channels too,” Midorima chimed in. He changed the channels, only to find the blonde woman—Alex Garcia, the official Justice League Spokesperson—all over each channel, talking straight to the camera in front The Hall of Justice building. “You can’t escape this unless you live under the rock, apparently.”

“We live _under the rock_ ,” Murasakibara commented lazily, while still chewing his sweets. “And we knew all about it.”

Aomine grumbled while the others were watching the announcement, not making any further comment. Akashi glanced from his printed message for the next mission assigned to his team by Makoto, watching as the woman on the TV as she was now taking questions from journalists present in the room. Behind her, stood the Green Lantern of Earth, Clutch Warrior, and Fate Stringer, The Trinity of the Justice League. They were serious about this rehabilitation, apparently. However, they didn’t mention how they are going to do the _Project Rehab_ . They quickly dismissed the word _brainwashing_ , but they didn’t confirm whether it uses psychic as a method either.

However they are going to do it, Akashi couldn’t take that lightly. Fate Stringer is one hell of psychic. No doubt she must be the one coming up with the idea. And judging how she decided to make this program public for everyone to see, this is a warning for young metahumans who had a lick of metagene inside their system to _behave, or we will get you_. 

Akashi wouldn't take that warning lightly. Not especially when he was sure that the Justice League must have been testing whatever method they’re using for launching this project and succeeded, and Akashi might have an idea who was the lab rat.

“Miracles, we’re going to do our missions carefully from now on until we figure out what’s this Project Rehab about,” Akashi suddenly announced, in an absolute manner, that it stole others attention, even Aomine’s. He turned to face where Akashi stood, both eyes shot open. “No unnecessary ruckus, not taking any risks, and definitely not making any scene in and out of a mission. Every single thing must be consulted with each other, and do not wander off alone unless you have someone present with you as a backup. Do I make myself clear?”

“But Aka-chin…”

“ _Do I make myself clear_ ?” Akashi repeated, authority was radiating from his body and filling the room like a gas, eliminating every hit of _defiance_ from his team. They nodded in agreement, while Aomine, once again, grumbled and turned his back from Akashi.  

“Akashi-kun…” Satsuki whispered from where she stood. “You’re worried. That’s so unlike you.”

“League’s announcement was not to be taken lightly, Momoi. While I know that this might be one of their PR attempt to calm people down after the last incident in Tokyo, they sounded serious about it. And I can’t lose any more of our clan on that stupid project,” Akashi spoke, almost whispering. “Say, Momoi, as a Psychic, do you think it’s possible to perform such a thing to…”

“Tetsu-kun!” Satsuki gasped, the glass she was holding in her hand slipped off, almost falling to the ground uncharacteristically before Aomine ran to her super quickly, holding the glass before it hit the ground and shattered.

“Oi Satsuki, what was that ab…”

His words were cut as he followed Satsuki’s eyes.

By the door of their secret lair, stood a small, blue haired boy. He was using his civilian outfit as he stepped to the light of the room, showing his calm face.

“Tetsu!”,”Kurokocchi!”,”Kuroko!”

They were shouting the blue-haired boy name, who was now smiling lightly. “Hello, everyone,” he greeted.

“Tetsu-kun!”

Satsuki practically flies to where Kuroko stood. She sobbed as she hugged him tightly, that Akashi was sure that Kuroko would be died from choking in a matter of a minute. However, that thought was quickly dismissed as Aomine pulled Satsuki from the boy, and the other Miracles were surrounding the boy, asking the essentials like “where, when, how, and what” that Kuroko avoided to answer. Akashi squinted his eyes, trying to observe the blue-haired boy from where he stood. Kuroko looked like himself. He didn’t look like he was being corrupted in any way.

But one cannot be too careful.

“Kuroko!” Akashi called, quickly silencing the voices of his groups that were still asking questions to the smallest Miracle. “I am thrilled that you’re coming back. But first and foremost, I wish to make sure that you are not corrupted in any way and endangering us. I’m sure you understand...” he started as he levitated towards the group. “... If I order Momoi to examine your head and your memories as well? You had been captured for nearly a month. I cannot risk our clan, you see. Especially after the League’s announcement.”

“Of course, _Emperor_ ,” Kuroko replied. “I understand. Please do, Satsuki.”

Akashi stared at the boy with suspicion as he mentioned their codename instead of their real name. That’s one sign of a possible alteration of his mind. Satsuki stared at Akashi for a moment, asking for an order before nodding her head and levitating. She crossed her legs as pink aura was starting to surround her, ending in her eyes that were now glowing in bright pink color. When Momoi finally raised her hands to touch Kuroko, his eyes were also glowing the same manner. The youngest Miracle gasped for air, his body tensed for a moment before the glow was gone, leaving Kuroko panting for air and Satsuki set her feet back on the ground before turning his eyes to Akashi.

“He’s still Tetsu-kun,” she spoke. “His mind is not broken, physically and mentally. There was no mental transmission emitted or received, and he was not being tapped. He’s still okay,” she ended with a little hesitant smile. “This is _our_ Tetsu-kun.”

If she wasn’t speaking to Akashi, her smile would go unnoticed. However, Akashi was the one with Emperor Eyes. He could see a slight hesitation in her pink eyes, and _a slight_ was a little too many for Akashi.

“But something is not right about him,” Akashi spoke. “Isn’t that right, _Satsuki_?”

The pink haired eyes widen, as does the others’ Miracle. They turned to Kuroko, starting to be doubtful when the blue haired guy nodded.

“It is,” he said. “I mentally asked Satsuki to be calm after seeing my memories. I got nothing to hide, Emperor. I am still me, however, there were things happening during my time in the team’s headquarter. And some of them weren’t so… in hero and villain manner, no. And she probably saw my decision to quit this clan too.”

At that, the other Miracles started to threw themselves away from Kuroko, all tensing up while preparing themselves in defensive mode. Akashi couldn’t quite be more proud of their quick reactions, if he wasn’t so busy glaring at the smaller boy.

“I knew it! I knew it by the moment he refused to call Satsuki’s real name. Or Emperor’s,” Aomine hissed. “Goddamn it, Tetsu! You were corrupted by Meteora, aren't you? I knew you always have a soft spot for that hero.”

“I am not!” Kuroko yelled. He then sighed, only to disappear before their very eyes, making the miracles tensed even more.

“Satsuki,” Midorima yelled. “Satsuki, _find_ him and capture him before he transmitted information to the outsider.”

“Forgive me for using my power, everyone,” Kuroko’s voice echoed in their hall, making it impossible for him to be spotted with naked eyes. “However, I need you to listen to me and if I’m present, then you guys would interrupt me before I finish. I need to tell my story. I will not harm you in any way, nor will I force you to accept my point of view. This is why I also didn’t refer to you with your real identity to protect it. After all, I couldn’t trust all of those heroes. One of them could have planted a microphone on me,” he said. “I still respect this clan.”

Akashi gritted his teeth. He accessed his Emperor Eyes power, and even though he could spot where the core of Kuroko’s soul with those eyes, it took quite a time. Kuroko’s presence is beyond _low,_ that it is such a bother even for him.

“Okay,” he spoke, seeing that there is no way for them to fight Kuroko in that state. “ _Talk_.”

There was a silence, before Kuroko’s voice was heard once again. “Thank you, _Emperor_. As Satsuki mentioned before, during my imprisonment the heroes didn’t do anything to alter my brain nor my mental state in any way. However, they did help me to see what we did from an angle that I… _we_ averted our eyes from. It was torturous for me to see what we did, and I feel something that I couldn’t before, given that I was blinded by my own insane wish to acquire, to _claim_ things. I believe I partook in the missions because my power was overwhelming me, it made me mad and I saw no other option to channel it but to use it on missions. So I can have some sick excuse as a purpose.”

The Phantom stopped for a moment, and Akashi couldn’t decide whether he’s giving himself a moment, or he just wanted to let all of that bullcrap sink in. Akashi narrowed his eyes, spotting Kuroko's presence not so far away from him. He seemed to be facing Aomine, judging from where his toes pointed to. Akashi sneakily fly behind Kuroko, approaching him with as little presence as he could muster.

“What we did was mad, and cruel. Even though it was satisfying for us to finally see our power in action, but it’s not worth other people’s pain. We can still use our power for better use. Not necessarily to be a hero, but… To control our power so it won’t harm people and so we can drown the insane voice that overwhelmed us when we don’t use it. I know we can, the heroes can help us...”

Kuroko’s speech was abruptly interrupted by Akashi’s hand around his neck, and not a moment later, his body was back to everyone’s view. He widened his eyes as they met a pair of heterochromatic ones, red and gold both glaring at him as he tightened his hold on Kuroko’s neck. “Thank you, _Tetsuya_ , It was really thoughtful of you. But we have to pass,” Akashi spoke. “Now, why don’t you invite your lover to come to join us? It’s very rude for you to keep a guest outside.”

Kuroko choked out a question, before the cave’s west wall suddenly glowed bright red and burnt into balls of fire. Aomine cursed, running towards Satsuki to protect her while Murasakibara jumped from where he sat, smashing the mini meteors into pieces to prevent them from falling upon his friends.

“Meteora, nice to see you again.” Akashi greeted.

“K… K… g… What… you’re…” Kuroko’s voice was cut by his lack of breath, causing Meteora to glared dagger at Akashi.

“ _Let him go_!” he yelled as he charged towards Akashi. The Emperor was dodging one of his meteor ball, throwing Kuroko to Meteora’s direction to dodge his attacks. The redhead hero caught The Phantom, who was now gasping for air and staring at Meteora, eyes clearly asking questions.

He didn’t know Meteora was following him. _How cute_ , and terribly reckless. And he had the guts to say that he still cares about the clan.

_Traitor._

“Enjoy each other’s presence while you still can,” Akashi said, rage started fueling his mind as he flew higher, focusing his power on his eyes. “As I do not forgive anyone who dares to defy me, let alone be the mole to our enemy. And as for you, Meteora,” he turned his eyes to Kagami, throwing a sharp look that manifested into a dagger made of dense air, flying towards Meteora’s direction. The hero dodged the attack, but not without a scratch as the blade slit his cheek. “I will make you regret ever laying your eyes on our Phantom and even corrupting his mind.”

Meteora was smarter than he looks, Akashi could give him that. Before Akashi could throw another dagger made of his stare alone, the hero was flying outside through the hole he created a while ago. However, Murasakibara’s hammer blocked his path, hitting the wall above the hole to cover it.

“Ugh, bastard!” Meteora cursed.

And that’s all what he could do before Midorima could launch one of his chain, targeting it around Meteora’s feet before pulling him to the ground. Meteora was trying to resist, but the angle that Midorima used was on his blind side, so he couldn’t help but to fall and hit the ground. Aomine didn't spend too much time to launched himself at the hero really quick and kicked him. Meteora was thrown to the wall, the fire surrounding him was dimming while Kuroko was rolling not far from him, glaring at his clan.

_Well, ex-clan._

Kuroko then raised his one hand towards Meteora, attempting to make himself and the red haired hero to be invisible. However, Akashi saw through his intention and shoot one air-dagger to Kuroko’s hand, making him yell in pain as he lowered his punctured hand. Blood was quickly flowing from his hand, making Meteora widen his eyes in panic.

“ _Phantom_ !” Meteora yelled. He then made a ring of fire that separated them with the rest of the Miracle. Kise then _tsk_ -ing before tapping Aomine's shoulder, absorbing his blue aura before running around the fire to put it out with speed alone, leaving Meteora and Kuroko gasping for air in the process and weakening them.

They were good, but they were outnumbered. 

"Moniker, you bastard, ask for permission first before you're doing that," Aomine growled to his friend before turning his eyes to the weakened hero, his eyes were filled with insanity as he walked towards them. "Now, now, _heroes_. Don't die just yet. I still want to have fun with you. And believe me, hell would feel like an opening course on what will I do to you.”

“That’s called an _appetizor,_ _Aopanthercchi_.”

“It’s _appetizer_ , Moniker. And who cares,” Midorima coming close behind them.

However, before Aomine could follow through his plan, the hole that Murasakibara blocked was now busted open once again, making way for some more people. Or rather… heroes.

A black crystal was coming out of the ground, separating the Miracles with Kuroko and Meteora, before a body with hawk wings came to their lair, flying and throwing his Metal Mace to Akashi. The Emperor had foreseen this attack, therefore he could dodged it easily and threw a set of his air-dagger as a counterattack. However, Hawkguy was dodging them, as well as resummoning his mace to protect the heroes that were now filling their cave.

Aside from Black Mercy plus his crystal power and Hawkguy himself, there came Avalanche. He was followed by the worst of them all.

Rainbow Blade.

Akashi gritted his teeth. Now, Rainbow Blade might be the most human among metagenes, extraterrestrials and magic beings. But he was also the toughest and the most persistent one. Akashi didn’t like being defied, and he was sure that Rainbow Blade here is the embodiment of _defiance_. It was surprising that he could be a part of a team, let alone leading them.

The ninja was lowering his grappling gun, jumping and _backflipping_ until he landed in front of the black crystal created by Black Mercy, smirking smugly.

“I’m sorry, boys, can’t have two of my team being harassed more than that even though they kind of deserved it, sneaking out from the base and stuff. But well,” he smirked a smug smile as he unsheathed both of his swords, leaving a trail of colors in their wake. “Now, we’re in a nick of a time and don’t have time to fool around. So I'd rather for you to let us put a collar on you and be nice. The other option is you could try to resist and we do this the hard way, and although it could take quite some time, I'll entertain you either way.”

Akashi stared at the man’s black eyes under his mask. They were radiating confidence, and although Akashi hated them, he knew that those eyes promised victory. Akashi didn't like them a bit. This man had something under his sleeves, and Akashi just couldn't quite get his hands it.

And it's really making him _furious_.

“Young Titan,” Akashi spoke.

Murasakibara didn’t have to hear his spoken order, he already knew what he had to do. Groaning, the huge human was growing even bigger and bigger so that he was as tall as a five story building, revealing his true form.

Avalanche was reacting quickly. He released a howl of wind as he raised his hands, followed by a bunch of snow spinning around them, making an indoor blizzard that reminded Akashi of a snow globe being shaken. However, the tiny snow couldn’t affect the now titan-sized Murasakibara. He swung his hand forward, trying to hit the heroes like a bunch of flies. However, they’re quick to dodge. Hawkguy was grabbing Rainbow Blade from where he stood fast, levitating him so he was safe.

Aomine and Kise, who were close in that direction, was running on Murasakibara’s hand. “Oi, stupid Titan, you should see that we’re here as well!” Aomine and Kise yelled.

“Haaa? It’s not my fault you’re there,” Murasakibara answered. “Get out of the way and let me crush them.”

Akashi left them to their useless bickering. It will not be long until they resolved their differences and fought side to side again, anyway. He was focusing on Rainbow Blade, who grunted something about “I don’t have time for this”. Akashi quite agreed. He hated that they attacked them in their lair, and he really wanted to beat some lessons to their puncturable organs as quickly as possible. Akashi then turned to Midorima and Momoi, ordering them to immobile those heroes with their powers, before widening his eyes.

Even among the blizzard, he could see Midorima and Momoi were freezing on their place, eyes looked empty and they were standing defenseless, with their bodies covered by a glowing energy.

One that wasn’t bright pink.

It was _purplish blue._

“Projectile! Satsuki!” Akashi yelled, trying to wake them to their senses with the absolute voice of an Emperor.

Momoi and Midorima didn't respond to him. They were staring at nothing, eyes widen in pure horror and shock. Akashi gritted his teeth, opting to grab their immobile body and leave. However, before he could even approach them the glowing light was also covering Murasakibara, Aomine, and Kise, making them gasp and their eyes were turning blank in an instant. Akashi glared dagger at Rainbow Blade, who was now looked just as surprised, but content nevertheless.

He knew what’s happening.

“Rainbow Blade!” Akashi yelled before squinting his eyes, focusing the energy around him to create air-made daggers and throwing them towards the ninja. However, before the daggers even reached their destination, Avalanche was making a huge ice dome around his leader, protecting him from the daggers. “What did you do to my clan?"

Before Akashi could launch another attack, his sight was turning purplish blue too. He gasped as the light was claiming his vision, his muscles, his power.

Akashi tried to fight, focusing all of his Emperor power to fight the light. However, he could only resist for a few minutes before the light covering his vision back.

The last of his consciousness was filled by the Rainbow Blade, smirking at him. “You’re not the only one throwing curveball, Emperor,” Rainbow Blade spoke. “I have my surprises too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave feedback if you have a critic (or a lot of it!) for this story if you have the time! :)


	3. Guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed, but I kind of re-read this over and over just to make sure that it makes sense, even if just a little :)

Dreaming is extremely rare for Akashi. 

Being a half demon, Akashi was gifted with Emperor Eyes; a pair better than human eyes that provided him a clear vision of the present and let him peek of the possible paths of the future. However, as a result, he never had room for something so vague like dream or nightmare. His sleep was usually consisting of a quiet darkness that separated him from the world in a certain period of time to restore his mind and energy, and he was quite content with it.

Therefore, the occurrence of a dream right now was disturbing him.

Not to mention that he was dreaming of _ Ogiwara Shigehiro  _ of all people.

Ogiwara was an Atlantean, a sorcerer that had yet completed his training before he escaped and made a villain of himself for his love to Kuroko Tetsuya (yes, Akashi, too was wondering why that blue-haired Phantom seemed to always found a lover in the strangest places). Ogiwara was part of Akashi’s team because of the Phantom himself, and as much as his sorcery enchanting, it is quite weak for their missions. Akashi had tried his best to awaken Ogiwara’s power, training him hard so he could be worthy to be part of his team.

But some men were just not cut out to be strong.

The high-paid mission to start a civil war in the shore of Bialya was supposed to be Ogiwara’s most important mission. It was where he was supposed to prove himself with his sorcery and earned his place in the clan. It was quite an easy task for him too; get into the separatists’ floating camp, kill one of their lieutenants, and make sure to make it look like the military did that. However, Ogiwara couldn’t even reach the separatists camp for his “glowing sorcery” was easily spotted the moment he entered the separatists’ perimeter, and he was knocked out almost instantly. Akashi had to cover for the man in the nick of time, although he couldn’t save him from being captured and tortured by the separatists.

Of course Kuroko decided to rescue Ogiwara, and of course Satsuki and Aopanther decided to help him, despite Akashi’s ultimatum to leave him be. But even when everything was said and done and they got Ogiwara back, the Atlantean was in a brink of death. His body was thoroughly tortured, with visible deep cuts, and a lot of fresh brands burnt his skin. His eyes were empty, an evidence of a broken mind. He kept on stuttering something in Atlantean—perhaps broken words, for Akashi couldn’t pick up any Ancient Greek from his low mumbling. 

“Satsuki… Momoi-san,” he could hear Kuroko sobs as clear as the day it happened. “Please, cleanse his mind from psychological trauma. Please help him forget this.  _ Please _ .”

“She can’t,” Akashi was the one who spoke. “She won’t.”

Kuroko gasped, staring at him. “Emperor….”

“I think you already know that he can’t catch up with the rest of us,” Akashi continued. “He’s weak, and lacking the power to carry his duties or simply to become a part of this team. He did nothing but endangering our mission, and  _ you _ for that matter. And I can’t have someone like that in our team.”

Kuroko’s eyes widened, he clearly looks dejected and hurt, and Ogiwara, as if he could sense desperation radiating from Kuroko, was starting to sob. His body was shaking violently, his mouth was releasing a voice that could trigger people to pity if they have enough heart to do so. 

“Leave him, Tetsuya,” Akashi ordered. “Dump him in the ocean where he belongs. He is not our concern anymore.”

“Can you at least heal him? I promise I will dump him after. Just… don’t torture him like this, please.”

Satsuki stared at Akashi, begging silently.

“Can you do it?” Akashi remembered asking the pink haired girl. “Can you heal his mind?”

Satsuki blinked for a moment, weighing her option before shaking her head. “I… I can try,” she said. “Repairing broken mind is new to me. But I'm sure I can try.”

“And how much risk would you face?”

Satsuki shook her head, clearly trying to hide her own fear. “It could harm my mind too if I’m not careful,” Satsuki said. “But I assure you that it won’t happen. If Tetsu-kun helps me, maybe I can…”

“Then, it’s a no,” Akashi spoke. “I refuse to put Satsuki in danger for _his_ sake.”

Akashi could see Kuroko gritted his teeth. “Emperor, please,” he whispered. “Please, please. Do not leave him like this.”

But Akashi refused to hear his plea. He simply left the room, to go back to his plan to clean all the mess that emerged when Ogiwara was captured. 

Kuroko was heard screaming that day, but when Murasakibara did throw Ogiwara to the ocean, the blue-haired boy was dead silent. Akashi stared at Kuroko’s expressionless face, seeing a roll of tears on his cheek but the Phantom didn’t speak a word. He was an obedient knight like always, and Akashi was very satisfied.

“You’ll find someone stronger and worth your attention,” Akashi remembered talking to him. Even in grief, Kuroko looked strong. “You deserve at least that.”

However, before Akashi left, he turned to see Ogiwara’s body before it was sinking to the ocean and remembered that being one of the small lists of things that he regretted.

Ogiwara’s face was twisted into an expression that resembling grief, and even though he was crying, the browned haired Atlantean looked too confused to understand why. It was just as if his primal instinct sensed Kuroko’s feeling. 

What Akashi didn’t understand though, was why did those memories come back to him now, repeating itself over and over until Akashi remembered the details; how Ogiwara was too broken to even respond to anything, how the man would scream and thrash around in his sleep where it should be peaceful, how he would randomly charged at them, even at Kuroko. He would yell something and then just looked defeated and sobbing and flinching when Kuroko touched him, retreating until his back was against the wall and he could no longer escape. Even then, he would bang his shoulders multiple times to the wall, mindlessly trying to break it so he could escape. Scenes after scenes were replaying over and over in Akashi’s mind, making him somewhat feel pity…

Why didn’t he let Satsuki cleansed his mind then? Why? Was he that afraid that Kuroko will leave his clan? Why did he let the poor Atlantean broke and then killed him?

Scenes after scenes were playing in his mind, choking Akashi tighter and tighter until he could no longer breathe. 

-

Akashi gasped as he opened his eyes, getting out of his dreams and the painful thoughts of Ogiwara Shigehiro tragedy. He was a little bit disoriented as he continued to breathe the air greedily, trying to fill his lungs as his eyes tried to absorb every visual information in front of him.

It was just a flashback.  _ A dream _ . He’s back to his lair now. The cave that...  has a lot of human technology.

The redhead narrowed his eyes. Wait, this is wrong. 

He had never cared about human technology. Why would he, when alien-tech and techno-sorcery was proven far more superior? But in his lair, now, there was a lot of human technology; old, unimpressive holographic computers in nearly every corner, accompanied by the constant buzz from what seemed like multiple generators, and it made Akashi frowned.

This is definitely not  _ his _ lair.

Akashi tried to project his Emperor Eyes to see how large the room he was in, what is it made of, and how many people were there. However, he couldn’t see anything past his visual field. He couldn’t even feel the buzz he felt in his head like he always experienced when he used his power. Instead, the more he tried to use his power, the more he felt energy was drained from him through his neck. It was heavy, and nauseating. As if he wore an...

_ Inhibitor collar _ , the half-demon thought as his fingers made contact with the cold metal that clings around his neck. _O_ _ h, right.  _

He was ambushed and defeated by  The Sidekicks. So he’s probably in  _ their _ lair now.

Akashi turned his head to his surrounding, feeling frustrated for not being able to use his power, but decided that he could use any information his eyes could gather no matter how little. All of his clan were there, thankfully. Mostly unconscious and were bound by a thick handcuff that covered their arms up to below their elbows, and inhibitor collar around their neck. They still had their respective masks and suits, so at least their identities are still protected. 

But there was someone missing. 

Akashi walked closer to where his clan sat.  _ No, _ he thought.  _ Anyone but her. Anyone but…  _ UGH!

The redhead winced as he took a step back, stepping away from an invisible wall that somehow managed to stung his shoulder and forehead. He narrowed his eyes, and belatedly staring at an energy bubble surrounding him in a mix of blue, purple, and pink colors with the extremely low opacity that he didn't see before. He tried to punch it once, twice, but the stronger he hit it, the stronger it hurt him.  _ Him _ , a human - devil hybrid. The son of the devil king, who was blessed (or rather, cursed) with the endurance of the strongest devil, and was gifted with the possession of the strongest sorcery of Azarath, Atlantean, and more. A mere energy wall wouldn’t hurt him. 

But of course, a great deal of his strength must be drained by inhibitor collar. As if they knew that it wouldn't be enough, they were also preventing him from using his sorcery with an impenetrable, magic-protected kinetic energy wall.  Akashi was thoroughly constrained, that he had no more power than _ordinary human_ now.

It was almost funny that Akashi wanted to laugh. Those heroes really do know what they’re doing. Only a handful of people know how to contain him. Not even his clan knew.  The only ones he trusted with this secret were Satsuki and... _Tetsuya_. 

_ That traitor. _

Akashi gritted his teeth. He hoped that the blue-haired man was prepared to what Akashi would do to him when he got out from this, because what happened to Ogiwara would really look like a child’s play to what Akashi had in mind to make him pay.

A pang of uncomfortable feeling was once again present in his mind, making Akashi hated Tetsuya even more. All of the guilt-driven forgiveness Akashi was ready to give Tetsuya after that strange dream involving The Phantom’s ex-boyfriend was disappeared in an instant. Someone as knowing and as sneaky like the Phantom must be taken down fast if he refused to be on Akashi’s side. He was too dangerous.

Speaking of  _ danger _ ,

Akashi turned his head quickly to the small door in the corner of the room, where a glimpse of movement was captured by his peripheral vision. Akashi stiffened as he realized that the boy hovered just above Aomine. A sound of chain clattering was loud enough for Akashi to be alert.  He might lose all of his power now, but he’s not giving up his clan without a fight.

"Hey!" he yelled, mustering as much command in his voice as he could. "Get away from him!"

The boy stopped whatever he did to Aomine, and turned his body fully to Akashi. It wasn't Rainbow Blade, definitely. Nor it was Avalanche or  any other sidekicks Akashi had ever encountered. There was a brown-haired boy instead. Or at least Akashi thought it was brown behind the glow that emitted from his body. The glow was strange, unlike what Akashi had ever seen before. See, lights that emitted from a living being usually gave some kind of strong impression. Green-Lantern usually emits strong will, Red Lantern emits fury, but this indigo light… It was a little bit of an enigma. Something unknown and strange for Akashi that he paused to stare, trying to better understand it.

In fact, everything about the boy was straight up contradictory. His face showed that he was scared, but his indigo colored eyes glowed in pure curiosity and bravery. He looked hesitant, but his steps towards Akashi never halted. And even the way he dresses looked strange. He wore what looked like a tribal dress, while the tattoos that was shown in his exposed skin looked futuristic, with the way it curved and glowed against his skin. The staff he carried looked like it was retrieved from some archaeological site, but it looked extraterrestrial. 

This boy looked plain and ordinary, but with indigo color surrounding him, the boy looked almost majestic. Like he was a shaman of an old extraterrestrial tribe. He had this little charm about him that pulled Akashi’s curiosity in.

Akashi never saw him before. He clearly wasn’t part of the sidekick team led by Rainbow Blade, at least not until Akashi was captured. This guy must be a guest, or perhaps an amateur that the Rainbow Blade recruited. Like seriously, who approached a completely restrained enemy with feet trembling? And how could one’s feet trembles when they’re actually floating in the air?

Akashi threw a glare to the boy. "What are you doing to him, boy?" he said, calmly but with venom in his voice.

However, before the boy could answer or do as much as floating closer towards Akashi, Aomine got up and hit the boy with his body, a little bit too fast and too hard that the boy was thrown to  the wall on the west side of the room. 

The boy coughed and groaned, but Aomine didn’t give him that much time to react. He quickly pin the boy down to the floor with both of his free feet.

“Where is Satsuki?!” Aomine roared in fury.

Wait,  they confined Akashi in an impenetrable energy bubble, but not even bothering to lock Aomine’s feet? Don’t they know that he was basically fast, even without his meta-power?

That doesn't sound like Rainbow-Blade at all. The man was careful and very thorough. Surely he wouldn't let that important detail slip.

Akashi frowned a bit. Was that boy trying to restrain Aomine's feet before Akashi called him? Did they spend too much time building restrain for _The Emperor_ that they couldn't restrain him in time?

"Answer me!" Aomine demanded.

That interruption brought Akashi’s full consciousness back. He squinted his eyes, examining the situation as the brown-haired boy raised his fist. A portal appeared behind his body, teleporting the boy from under Aomine, into the empty air five feet above them. Akashi looked up, squinted as the brown hair stared at Aomine. The glowing color all over his body made his expression a little unreadable.

“Calm down, Aophanter. She’s unharmed,” he said, his voice sounded soft, almost sympathetic even though it's slightly trembling. As if he could understand Aomine’s anger. As if he wanted to. 

It reminded Akashi of Ogiwara, and all of his curiosity about this boy quickly turned into disgust. 

“Bring. Her. To. Me,” Aomine growled.

“Okay, but calm down,” the boy spoke as he lowered himself down to the ground. “She’s not here right now but…”

Aomine roared once again, jumping high and charging towards the boy until he was once again being thrown to the floor. “You’re making a mistake letting my feet loose. I’m not just  _ fast _ , you know!” he shouted.

The panther didn’t even let the brown haired boy recover from his last attack. He continued to chase his captor, who was now floating up to the ceiling of the cave, far enough to be on Aomine’s reach in his current situation. His indigo eyes were glowing as he pointed his staff towards Aomine, trying to hit him with indigo-colored beams. 

Wait, those weren’t beams. Those were… lights, in the same material like Green Lantern light. Only in a different color and in a much slower pace than Green Lantern could shoot. Akashi was right, this guy was probably a new recruit of the team that was probably never had combat experience before.

His speed and reflex was nothing compared to Aomine, even that right now the taller man didn’t have his lightning speed. He dodged those attacks while throwing whatever his bound hands could hit towards the hero. The brown haired hero didn’t dodge. Instead, he kept on teleporting those things back to its original places. 

“Please… Stop,” he yelled. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Oh, but I’m sure as hell want to hurt you,” Aomine grinned. He hit a chair hard enough for it to fly to the hero’s direction, too quick for him to create another teleporter hole so the hero decided to dodge it. But unbeknownst to him, it was a trap. While he dodged towards the left side, the chair was hitting a corner of the roof and bounced back to him, hitting his back quite hard that it startled the hero. He lost his concentration to keep his flight power, and falling right in front of the tanned man. 

Aomine twisted his boy’s hand with his feet and twisted it in between his bound arms, ready to break his joints before the brown haired boy could make an effort to escape. “Gotcha,” Aomine grinned. “Now, tell me where Satsuki is, and maybe I won’t tear your limbs that much slowly…”

“She’s away!,” Indigo spoke, in between his gritted teeth as he tried to endure the pain of his limb twisted in the awkward position. "Away... in a mission. With Rainbow Blade-san... and the others!"

“What?” Aomine sounded puzzled, and so did Akashi. What does he mean that Satsuki is away on a mission? She’s not part of the heroes...

Is she?

“Satsuki… is awake way earlier than you guys…” the brunet said, almost nervously. “She… She gave up villainy just a week ago. She’s on her first mission with the others now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess what happened during the Miracles blackout that made Satsuki change side? :)  
> Thank you for reading. And as always, please forgive me (and please notify me) if you spot any glaring mistake or question.


	4. Indigo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi is getting a little bit of hint on what Project Rehab is about,  
> While Nijimura is off to a mission in Bialya with The Sidekicks plus Satsuki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, i will warn you that this is un-betaed, but I kind of re-read this over and over just to make sure that it makes sense :)

“Liar!” Aomine roared once again as he twisted the indigo boy’s arm into what looked like a more hurtful angle, making the boy whines in agony. Before real damage could be done, though, another black hole with indigo light surrounding it appeared from the boy’s knuckles, swallowing Aomine inside. Akashi widened his eyes, the shock hadn’t even registered to his mind before he reappeared back near where he first sat, confused but not any less furious.

“Fucking mage,” Aomine cursed. However, before he could charge towards the pained boy, Aomine’s body was floating in the air, rigid as a stone as if he was restrained.

From behind the shades, appeared a green-skinned man. His eyes were glowing green, and he raised one of his hand towards Aomine, clearly being the responsible party of the Phanter’s suffering. His green fingers were clenching, twisting Aomine's spine into a painful position with his telekinetic power alone. 

Akashi gritted his teeth as he stared at the Martian. What are the chances that M'tobe R'noom is here? In The Sidekick's base? And why is he saving the boy from Aomine? He's not a hero, he doesn't save people. He doesn't care about people. 

“M’tobe, no!” the brown-haired boy quickly raised to his feet, as he floats towards the Marian and raised his staff, releasing an indigo light that soon covers the Martian from head to toe. “ _Tor lorek san, bor nakka mur, Natroomo faan, tornek wot ur, Ter lantern ker lo Abin Sur. Taan lek lek nok, Formorrow Sur!_ ”

The light glows brighter for a moment, causing M'tobe to groan louder. He dropped onto his knees, losing his control over his telekinetic that held Aomine in the air. They were both now kneeling, grunting in pain while the Martian stared at the blue-haired man who was just on death’s door. Tears were seen rolling on M’tobe cheeks before he hid his face.

The brown haired boy dropped onto his knees as well, crowding into his teammate’s space and placed his hand on the Martian’s broad shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” the brown-haired boy whispered. “It’s okay, you didn’t kill him. You’re okay. You didn’t kill him. Take a deep breath.”

He kept whispering calming words to his teammate, rubbing his back while the Martian continued to curl into fetal position and whimper. Akashi could see that while the boy was calming the Martian, his purplish-blue light was projected to an unconscious Aomine. The dark haired man was whimpering too, his lips were mouthing a name Akashi knew too well.

_Satsuki. Satsuki. Satsuki._

The indigo light shone a little too bright for a second, causing Aomine to roar. For a few moments, his voice was the only one echoing in the large chamber of the cave, full of agony that it reminded Akashi of the Mission Seirin. The very first mission where they lost Kuroko to betrayal and thought that they lost Satsuki too.

When the light finally dimmed to the point that it was nearly invisible, Aomine curled up in his position, whining almost silently. Akashi narrowed his eyes as he shifted his sight back to the indigo boy. Clearly, he caused Aomine a psychological pain instead of physical.

The half-demon’s first instinct was to go and save his knight, relieving him from pain so that he could serve him once more. However, he knew damn well that they were all weakened and restrained, and trying anything right now would be dumb and useless. Especially since Akashi still had no clue about what kind of magic made his cage. Akashi gritted his teeth, shifting his gaze back to the Indigo boy cause that’s all that he could do without feeling irritated of his own helplessness.

The Indigo boy was still whispering calming words to the green-skinned man, who was now curling himself in the same manner that Aomine just did. He seemed to have calmed down, as he was now shifting into a pet cat and snuggling comfortably against the Indigo boy. The human boy chuckled, rubbing M'tobe's green fur peacefully.

Akashi furrowed his eyebrows, not believing his eyes. M’tobe, the young lieutenant from Green Martian Separatists Group, is actually snuggling against a human being. M’tobe, who have killed so many people to the point that he almost wiped out an entire race of White Martian. M’tobe, the guy who is impossibly ruthless and unmanageable, who dared to disobey his order and nearly killed Kise for trying to mimic his power while also ruining the mission, is willingly submitting to this indigo boy.

Or probably _not_ willingly.

Only one way to find out.

“Must be a convenience, to have a domesticated Martian as a pet to protect you,” Akashi spoke, because that seemed to be the only thing he could do in the current circumstances.

The Indigo boy froze, shifting his eyes towards the redhead. He pulled his hand from M’tobe lightly, as if trying not to wake the Martian. “M’tobe… he’s... he is... not a pet,” he said, voice as trembling as his feet as he rose to hover above the floor. “He’s a… teammate.”

“M’tobe is not the type who work on a team. I would know, I have led him in a paid mission before,” Akashi smirked, eyes never leaving the indigo orbs, trying to pull him into his charm. The only good thing about his human DNA is, there is nothing to contain his talent. Human never thought to protect themselves from their own natural trait, and that makes Akashi not completely helpless in a situation like this. “Let alone curling against a human. He despised your kind as much as he despises White Martian.”

The boy stared back at Akashi, his nervousness doubled as he mumbled “He’s… teammate…”

“Is that so,” Akashi smiled contently. “You mean he’s not a lab mice for your so-called… _Project Rehab_?”

The boy flinched. “No. The project never meant to harm anyone.”

Akashi locked his eyes to the Indigo orbs. “If you say so,” he smiled, trying to be as charming as he could be. The boy looked intimidated, so Akashi decided to change tactic. “I have never seen you around before.”

The boy trembled under his gaze, shifting his eyes away from Akashi’s red and gold one. But by then, it was already too late for him.

“I’m new,” he gulped. “I’m… I’m Fu… Indigo...” he finally said, submitting to Akashi’s wish to know his name without even having to be asked. Akashi beamed at that. Oh, this is way too easy. “..... Tribe, ah but, no… Just Indigo.”

 _Indigo Tribe_ , Akashi noted internally for him to muse later. The name sounded familiar, but with his weakened state and the uncomfortable buzz in his head, Akashi couldn’t quite place the name. He decided to put it aside for not, and focused on pursuing the matter with the boy in front of him, to at least know as much as he could. “Much newer than Satsuki? You’re not even going to a mission while Satsuki, as you said, does.”

“I’m… I’m different,” he said, almost sounded defensive. He gripped his staff tighter as he glared at Akashi, which looked funny still, with the Idigo's entire being trembled lightly under Akashi’s eyes. “I don’t do wars, and neither does M’tobe. Not anymore. We are peacekeepers.”

“Hmm. But Satsuki is doing wars? Did you brainwash her like you brainwash M’tobe to be your pawn in these wars?”

“She’s _teammate_!” the man hovered over the floor, in a much quicker pace until he stopped right in front of Akashi, sparing a few steps distance between them. His indigo eyes glowed brighter for a moment, looking curious despite his apparent fear. “You shouldn’t be awake. You are not ready to awake. Why are you awake?”

“How rude of you, Mister Indigo. You should answer mine first,” Akashi said, moving so close to the energy bubble that contained him that he could feel the psychic power tickling the tip of his nose. He stared right at the Indigo eyes, forcing him to mumble a quiet apology. “Did you, or did you not brainwash her?”

“We did not, she was finally waking up and feeling compassion once more, as she should be,” Indigo boy said finally. He shifted his eyes back at Akashi, looking curious. “You don’t seem to feel compassion… yet. Not so much so that you can be awake,” he blinked once. “Are you… Are you perhaps… Resisting?”

“Perhaps,” Akashi said, not entirely following what the Indigo meant so he decided to press the issue further. “What am I resisting? The brainwashing chemical? The rehabilitation magic? The nanotech that reprogram me not to do anything except what you deemed good?”

“My… my power,” he answered sheepishly. “I’m an Indigo Tribe. I am a part of the Emotional Spectrum. I help make you feel compassion.”

-

Nijimura’s eyes were shifting rapidly between the large screen in front of him, and the actual scene outside the bioship where he was standing. The Bialyan Military was approaching fast, and as they’re getting closer, Nijimura could tell just how much soldiers and weapons were coming his way. They were many, he could conclude that even in the midst of the darkness. He was not by any means faltered by weapons or armies, but he was concerned that if the army was getting close enough, they would instantly be exposed. And no way in hell he would let Makoto knew what he was up to in an archaeological site within the territory of his country.

“Lantern, You got two minutes before we left your glowing ass behind,” Nijimura asked through the radio for the third time. They should maintain radio silence, but this is getting more and more irritating.

 _“Securing the artifact,”_ Kiyoshi’s voice was heard. _“Satsuki is still handling Psimon.”_

“One point forty-five.”

_“Geez.”_

The radio was effectively shut down, seeing that the army was getting closer. Nijimura couldn’t risk being tapped. He glared back at the screen where a video was streamed from Kiyoshi’s contact lens, showing Satsuki standing in front of Psimon the Psychic, her eyes were glowing pink.

“RB, we’re running out of time,” Kasamatsu called from the driver seat of the bioship.

“I know.”

“They both can fly, you know,” Takao said, “Why don’t we just go ahead and…”

“They both glows while they fly, you know,” Nijimura bite back, eyes never shifted from the screen in front of him. “Why don’t you just go ahead and be quiet?”

Meteora snickers from his seat, getting a glare from Takao. However, before anyone could do anything, an explosion could be seen from the window, suddenly bringing bright colors to the blackness of the desert. Nijimura quickly shouted an order to the bioship to go into camouflage mode. At the same time, Nijimura felt something tickle his mind before he heard Satsuki’s voice in his head.

_We’re done, you can come to pick us up._

Avalanche must have heard that too, for he was instantly launching the bioship closer into the archaeological site, ordering the bioship to pick up Green Lantern and Satsuki who were both bringing an ancient looking item.

“Mission completed,” Satsuki said as she finally sat on one of the seats. “We secured the artifact.”

“And bring down Psimon,” Kiyoshi added. “Satsuki cleaned his memory, no one would remember that we’re even there,” he continued with a huge grin on his lips. “Satsuki, would you tell RB the best part?”

The pink haired girl blushes as she smiled a little. “I’m… I’m not damaging his brain,” she said. “I’m not stealing memories, I’m not destroying his mental state, I’m just clearing what I don’t want him to remember. I didn’t do anything horrible.”

Nijimura could feel himself smiling, even if he wasn’t intended to. “That felt good?” he asked softly.

“It is,” Satsuki beamed. “I feel like… I finally I can control my power. It’s… I…”

 _I feel invincible_ , she continued, using the psychic link to say that because it feels embarrassing to say it out loud. _And not in_ a bad _way. I feel like I know myself._

Nijimura smiled wider _. I’m glad._

 _Can I be part of the team?_ She asked. _Like, not officially like Tetsu-kun, if that’s too much. I can keep helping. This feels good. I feel like my power finally meant something. It’s not hurting me, and it’s not hurting everyone. I’m… I…_

_You are already part of the team._

_But is anyone okay with that?_

“Ahem, would you please include us in the conversation?” Kiyoshi spoke in a teasing tone. “I’m starting to get jealous here, Satsuki.”

Satsuki chuckled, mumbling a "sorry" while Nijimura rolled his eyes.

“So, Sa-chan is finally gaining the good side of the power, we got the items we wanted, and we keep our covers while we’re at it. The mission is a success!” Takao launched himself to a flip, his brown wings spread a little before they folded back neatly. Avalanche gritted his teeth, launching a small snowball he generated with his hand into the smaller man. Hawkguy yelped, glaring at Avalanche as he realized what just hit him. “Hey! What’s that for, Kasa-san?”

“Shut up, Hawkguy. You’re annoying.”

“You’re just jealous cause your icy arse couldn’t be out there in the dryness of the desert,” Takao stuck out his tongue.

While the bickering between the two was happening in the background, Nijimura was talking with Kiyoshi about how to deliver the artifacts to Riko. Granted, using a zeta-tube is risky, since the artifact seemed to have an ancient-alien tech in it that could probably be set off with technology. Flying to the Watchtower is also out of question for Kiyoshi, for he could be exposed by enemy’s intel. The only way out is to use the bio-ship or one of the league’s spaceship. The downside is, it would take too long for Riko’s liking.

“Or, we can ask for Furihata’s help,” Nijimura said. “He could master his Spatial Warps now, and even better, he couldn’t be traced.”

Kiyoshi raised his eyebrows. “He could do that?”

“Yeah, he did that on our last combat training,” Nijimura said, voice dripping with a slight pride. “You’re a damn Lantern, Teppei. How could you not even know that?”

Kiyoshi laughed a little bit. “Well, Indigo Tribe was always an enigma for the rest of us,” Kiyoshi said. “They’re hard to find, and now that the tribe is basically wiped out, it’s even harder to know to what extent the Indigo Light could do,” he blinked, showing a little bit of regret as he thought about the once an enigmatic Indigo Tribe, and Furihata, who was now alone with his power, confused, and his conscious mind was constantly drowning and resurfacing in the ocean of compassion that the ring forced him to feel.

As the bio-ship finally entered Happy Harbor’s airspace, Nijimura called into the cave’s main communication system, initiating a video chat. However, when the screen showed the situation of the cave, Nijimura’s eyes widen, and the bickering behind him has finally come to a stop.

There, in the middle of the cave, Furihata was kneeling, his head slowly lower than Emperor’s. Their eyes seemed to locked, and while Nijimura couldn’t see Furihata’s face from the angle the camera provided him, he could see that Akashi was smirking contently.

“Furi!” Kiyoshi yelped.

Nijimura didn’t waste any second. He quickly accesses the Cave’s security system, and activate the electric shock on the Emperor’s neck, ultimately render him unconscious.

Furihata soon got up from his kneeling position, hovering above the floor as he usually prefers, and light up his Power Staff, covering all the Miracles with his Indigo Light. When Nijimura and the team finally come to the cave, the boy was floating really high near the cave’s roof, curling himself while still directing his power to the unconscious Miracles.

The ninja assessed the situation inside the cave; the chairs were in disarray, Furihata looked scared, and M’tobe woke up from his nap, looking tired and there was a pang of  guilt that didn’t escape Nijimura’s eyes.

“Indigo,” Nijimura called Furihata, causing the latter to flinch and curl himself even tighter like a chihuahua. “Come down and tell me what was going on.”

Indigo paused for a moment. “I think…” he spoke. “I think I messed up. I tell Emperor things…”

“What things?” Kiyoshi spoke from beside Nijimura, who was still gritting his teeth.

Furihata whined. “ _Everything_.”

 

 

 

-

_**Bioship** : an organic Martian ship that could shape-shift, turn near invisible in camouflage mode, and can withstand attacks directed at her, including nuclear shockwave, the friction of rapid descent, and deep ocean pressure. She's a living being, not some kind of machine :)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, a rocky start for our boys :)
> 
> So Young Justice is back with season 3, and I just realized that crying from happiness is real. Cause I did.  
> And therefore, this chapter is dedicated to its comeback season (although it's a little bit late, cause I'm really slow as writing *nervous laugh*)
> 
> Thank you for reading. And as always, please forgive me (and please notify me) if you spot any glaring mistake or question.


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